Citizenship issue: Sarawak to issue special documents for stateless individuals aged under 21

KUCHING - The Sarawak government will issue temporary documentation for individuals under the age of 21 in the state who have not received their citizenship documents.

The temporary documentation will help them have access to education and health facilities in the state while they apply for Malaysian citizenship, which is under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

Sarawak Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the state government was aware that undocumented individuals or stateless persons would have trouble accessing the facilities.

She said education and health were fundamental human rights and the state government was ready to assist the group.

"As such, the Office of the Premier of Sarawak (has agreed) to issue temporary documentation to support stateless persons and eligible individuals in obtaining access to education and health facilities in the state,” she told reporters after officiating the Kuching Autistic Association’s Autism Awareness Programme at the Sarawak State Library in Petra Jaya here today.

Fatimah, however, stressed that the issuance of the temporary documentation was not a promise for the individuals concerned to obtain Malaysian citizenship.

She also did not disclose when the issuance of the temporary documentation would be enforced, adding that a committee would be set up to review the application and issuance of the document.

Nevertheless, she hoped the temporary documentation would be of help to children who are deemed stateless or whose citizenship status is unknown due to their mother or father’s unregistered marriage to foreigners.

"Many of them are from poor families and we are very concerned that if they do not get access to education, they will have a hard time securing a job and this, in turn, will see them continue to live in poverty,” she said. - BERNAMA